Dubai takes giant leap forward to recycle and refurbish electronics waste

ABU DHABI (Scrap Monster):The latest figures released by the Dubai Municipality indicate that more than 157,000 laptops, desktops and other electronic devices have been refurbished or recycled since 2007. By doing so, the municipality has diverted over 2,500 tonnes of electronic devices from the landfill.

According to figures, the PC Refurbishment Centre (PCRC) run by the municipality, has received 39,720 desktops weighing approximately 800 tonnes during the eight-year period from 2007. It also received over 5,700 laptops, over 18,000 keyboards and mouse units and over 16,000 printers. Out of the total intake of nearly 80,000 electronic waste items, almost 55,000 were refurbished. The rest of the items were sent for recycling and recovery of useful parts.

The PCRC mostly receive used and end-of-life electronics as donations by medium-to-large scale companies based in Dubai. Operational units are refurbished and distributed free to schools and charity associations within UAE, other GCC countries, African countries and Europe. PCRC ensures that new operating system, anti-virus and basic office packages are installed in the refurbished computers before they are shipped.

The unfurnished units and parts are handed over to certified recycling firms which separate out valuable metal parts for recycling.

Dubai Municipality urged general public to either drop off their unwanted electronic devices at PCRC warehouse located off Beirut Street in Al Ghusais Industrial Area 5 or make best use of the e-waste bins placed in select malls and places across Dubai.